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H. H. SCHRAMM.

RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 10. I919.

Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

INVENTOR.

WITNESSES ATTORNEY} iinirnn srarns PATENT :oFricn.

nuGHH. SCHRAMM, ornnw YORK, N. Y. i

RAIL-JOINT.

Application fil e cl Februar 10, 1919. Serial as. 276,220.

T 0 old whom it may concern Be it known that I, HUGH H. Soinmlit u, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of New York,borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have inventeda new andImproved litailJoint, of which thefollowing is a full, clear,and exact description.

The invention relates to an improved rail joint with aself, orautomatic, tightening and locking device and the object of thisinvention is to provide a simple and efficient device of this kind,comprising simple and practical features of construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device that is soconstructed that it is easily applied and very diflicult to remove ortamper with, and further it requires very little more attention after itis applied.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists of certainnovel fea tures of construction as hereinafter shown out in the claim.

A practical embodiment of the invention is represented in theaccompanying drawing forming part of this specification, in whichsimilar characters of reference indi cate corresponding parts in all theviews.

Figure l is a perspective view showing a portion of the ends of therails meeting and the outside fishplate of the rail joint attaohed andalso the end of the inside fishplate of the rail joint.

Fig. 2 is a view of the ends of the two rails meeting with the holes forthe studs, (or rivets). I

. In Fig. 3 are views showing the outside fish plate with A an end view,and B an edge view.

In Fig. 4 are detailed views of the inside of the fishplate with thetightening and locking device.

Fig. 5 shows, side, end and edge views of the inside plate.

The rail joint illustrated in Fig. 1 is provided with two fishplates,which are connected to each other by studs A passing through the holes11 of the rails and the apertures in the fishplates and are tightened.and locked by the wedge or key 9 shown in Fig. 4, which gradually slidesin between stud A and the back wall of the recess 10. by its own weightand the spring 6, assisted by the little movement and tremblingSpecification of Letters Patent.

plate 3 in opposite directions.

Patented Nov. 11, 1919.

of the rails when the cars pass over them.

As shown in Fig. 5 the inner fishplate is of the common form ofconstructionwith a series of studs A, either fastened solid in tures inthe pla-te-which are sufficiently large to permit the stud heads to passand from these apertures extend longitudinal slots to fit the shanks ofthe studs 5 and by moving the studs into these slots the heads formshoulders abutting the side of the plate, thus preventing them frombeing withdrawn without a backward movement. This fishplate 3 has aseries of wedge or inclined surfaces extending from the large openingsof the apertures to the ends ofthe longitudinal slots. This fishplate 3is also formed with an opening or recess 10 on the inner side of theplate facing the rail, this opening extending from the top of the platedownward to the bottom and from the rear or back wall of the aperture tothe end of the longitudinal slots minus the diameter of 'is the spring6.

When the plates are in position and plate 3 is moved forward and thestuds enter the longitudinal slots, the key 9 passes between the stud 5and the back wall of the opening 10 and acts as a wedge, and by theaction of the spring, and its weight downward the key drives the stud 5and the This action with the stud heads moving forward on the inclinedsurfaces of the plate elfect the tightening and the downward movement ofthe key at the same time constitutes the looking device of theinvention. It will be noticed that when the key is in place and be- 1-the rails and the fishpllates, one of the fish-1 plates having "a series'oflongitudinal'. slots. to v i receiye shanks oi the studs and to en- HQ"1,321,55s

.ters Patent "ln ai'railjoint the eomhinationyvith thej'adj'acentlrailf'ends and' a fishplate mounted 3 onieach' sideinsupporting relation of said rails,iof.afseries of studs extendingthrough Witnesses:

gage the shoulders formed by the heads of the studs, said plate alsobeing formed with a series of Wedge or inclined surfaces one containingeach of the longitudinal slots, and a recess in said plate opposite thein- "clined surfaces, and a wedge key in said recess, between one end ofthe recess and one side of a stud to move the plate and the studs'longitudinallyv in opposite directions and retard anybackward movement,and a spring in the recess between the head of the rail and top of theWedge key.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature, in presence of two Witnesses.

H. H. SCHRAMM.

' EVELYN J. THOMPSON, V S.,P; T. Bons'r.

copii'stof this patent my momma for-five tents eaehfby addressing the"Commissioner of Patents,

1 f r Washington, D. c."

